golddust, if I were to return it, they would arrange to have UPS pick it up so I wouldn't really have to do anything except put it back in the box and put it on my doorstep. I talked to DH about it, and he says he can fix the damage. It's hard to describe, but the wood is just sort of banged up on one side of the top. I have it in the room now, against the wall where it's supposed to be, and you can't see anything. If I thought I'd ever use it elsewhere, I'd worry about the damage on one side -- if I were to use it where that side might be seen -- but I can't see that I'd ever use it elsewhere, so I think it's fine. Part of the reason I'm willing to live with it is because it's already rustic and I ordered this after looking at very rustic Asian and Indian antiques at a local store that had similar damage... but at this high-end, expensive antique store, I believe they'd call it "patina."

Mine came too!! I have one open bloom on dames de chenoceau and it smells wonderful. My last shipment was climbers and they all had long canes neatly tucked as well when they very well could have whacked it back . I appreciated that! I love roses unlimited!

Looks great Steven, and you have a good mix of roses that are likely to do well in zone 5. You might give a relatively protected spot to Avon and Circus, since those have been very touchy in my zone 5 and either didn't survive my winter (Avon) or barely reached knee high (Circus). As for the gorilla stomped Roses Unlimited boxes, there's something about the UPS handling of their boxes that is beyond RU's control. Two years ago, I'd posted about 11 RU boxes that very clearly had been left out in the rain for extended periods by UPS and the integrity of the cardboard was totally shot. Fortunately, RU packs their roses so carefully that the bulk of the rose was intact even if some of the outer canes were damaged a bit. None of the roses suffered from that treatment, but it was astonishing how poorly the treatment was with UPS. BTW, I've never tried to remove the small boxes RU puts their roses in from the large packing boxes, since that is indeed a challenge. I just slit the tape on top of the mini boxes that hold two roses, then concentrate on removing the rose pot rather than completely opening the boxes. I was able to completely extract the roses from 12 large RU boxes of 6 each in about 45 minutes this year, so it seems to be a system for me. Cynthia

I can't add to the great cabinet advice here, butI can speak to your timeline. Stop it! You *want* the house to be finished before you move in, but that's a wish, not a necessity. You will make far better decisions and deal better with the problems that arise if you set that timeline aside and just deal with what needs to happen. You can live without floors, but they are a pretty big deal (I hated the weeks on bare concrete floors post-flood), so get your floors down. Since you are paying for your GC's services, why exactly does he get to tell you that he 'won't' do floors until cabinets are in? That may be his preference (just as yours was to have this all completed before move-in), but that is just the way he wants to do it (less flooring that way), and as someone once said, 'you don't always get what you waa aant'). Here's what we determined we actually *needed* to be able to live in our post-flood house: walls, floor, and one functional bathroom. Get your flooring down. Toilet, sink, shower or tub. I second the suggestion to get an inexpensive pedestal sink or cheap big box vanity in the interim. You can sell it afterwards. One or two long folding tables in your kitchen work pretty well for prep, drying dishes, etc. One or two metal storage racks (on wheels if possible) such as Metro Commercial or Metro Kitchen from Container Store work wonders to temporarily replace cabinet storage. Helpful hint 1: you don't have to unpack ALL of your kitchen utensils, cookware, dishes, etc. Unpack only what you need, place on shelves, go about the business of living and take your time and make sound, non-emotional, non-urgent decisions about how to resolve the cabinet crisis. You have time, you just need to stop telling yourself that you *must* have this completed by x-date. Helpful hint 2: I love Container Store but the reference to their product was just a reference - you can find similar shelves at Home Depot, Lowes, or even Craig's List or a restaurant supply. Breathe.